NEW YORK, N.Y. – The City College of New York women's soccer team delivered a dominant performance Saturday afternoon, shutting out Lehman College, 6-0, in the CUNYAC Championship Semifinals at Randall's Island. With the victory, the Beavers improve to 8-5-0 overall and secure their spot in the conference championship game for the second consecutive year.
CCNY controlled the contest from the opening whistle, outshooting Lehman 34-1 while putting 19 shots on target. The Beavers' defense limited the Lightning to just one shot throughout the match, while the goalkeeping tandem of Jade Salas and Elsa Gashi combined for the shutout.
The Beavers broke through in the 24th minute when freshman Josoniah Terry found the back of the net to give CCNY a 1-0 advantage. With time winding down in the first half, freshman Yessenia Yascaribay doubled the lead in the 42nd minute, finishing a pass from senior Pamela Pineda to send the Beavers into halftime with a 2-0 cushion.
CCNY wasted little time adding to its advantage in the second half. Just 23 seconds after the restart, sophomore Sara Dos Santos scored to make it 3-0. Senior Sara Rodriguez followed with another goal in the 57th minute, extending the Beavers' lead to four.
The Beavers continued to apply pressure, with junior Valeria Diaz finding the back of the net in the 73rd minute. CCNY capped the scoring in the 79th minute when Pineda converted a pass from Terry to secure the 6-0 semifinal victory.
Terry finished with a goal and an assist, while Pineda also recorded a goal and an assist. Yascaribay, Dos Santos, Rodriguez, and Diaz each added a goal in the balanced offensive effort.
Defensively, Salas recorded one save across 78 minutes of action before Gashi entered for the final 12 minutes to help preserve the clean sheet.
With the semifinal victory, CCNY advances to the CUNYAC Championship Game, in a rematch against No. 2-seeded John Jay College on Saturday, November 7. Kickoff is set for 1:30 pm at York College Soccer Field in Jamaica, NY.
